Apparatus for delivering can heads



Sept. 19, 1939-7 1.. E. DAVIES APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING CAN HEADS FiledJul 11, 1938 IN VENTOR. Dal/09,6,

/ la -0A4 ATTORNEY 5.

Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Cap Company,Chicago, 111.,

Delaware a corporation of Application July 11, 1938, Serial No. 218,596

Claims.

This invention relates to packaging, and pertains particularly toapparatus for delivering can heads or covers in succession from a stackfor application to receptacles or can bodies.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of such apparatuswhich will operate with certainty and precision, even though run at ahigh rate of speed, to accomplish the separation of the can heads fromthe stack and from one another, and for delivery, one after another, inproper position for presentation for application to the eceptacles uponwhich they are to be secured.

An incidental object is to provide a very simple mechanism for eflectinga positive separation of a head from a stack while others in the stackare held positively and securely. Another object is the provision ofapparatus having the attributes above referred to and which is simple inconstruction and operation. as well as strong and susceptible of longcontinued operation without serious wear.

Another object is the provision of such mechanism which accomplishes itsintended purposes without subjecting the heads or can closures to 28detrimental abrasion or to denting or deformation in even the slightestparticulars.

Another object is the provision of such apparatus which accomplishes itsdesired functions without involving handling of the can heads.

U Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will bepointed out or indicated hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilledin the art upon an understanding of the invention or its employment inuse.

For purpose of aiding in an explanation of the invention, I show in theaccompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, andhereinafter describe, one form of apparatus in which it may be embodied.It is to be understood, however, that this is presented merely !orpurpose of illustration and is not to be interpreted in any fashion forthe purpose of limiting the appended claims short of the true and mostcomprehensive scope of the invention in the art.

In said drawing,

Fig. 1 is a top view of apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on approximately line 29-! of Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is a detail in the nature of a top view of one of the slide barsand the head-handling members thereof, same being shown on a scalelarger than that of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a more or less diagrammatic view in p; the nature of alongitudinal section showing the parts illustrated in Fig. 3 in sideelevation and in association with the stack-supporting elements;

Fig. 5 is a detail in the nature of Fig. 4 but showing the head-handlingelements in another position, viz., that at which the lowermost head 5of the stack has been separated and is being dis charged downwardly; and

Fig. 6 is a detail in the nature of a section on line 65 of Figs. 3 and4, but on a considerably larger scale than those figures.

The invention relates to improvements in that type of mechanism which isused in canning machines ior separating the can heads from a stack anddelivering them to the can bodies on which they are to be sealed ordouble seamed. The pres- 15 cut improvements are of particular advantagein such mechanism for use in machines wherein the can bodies aretransmitted progressively with continuous movement, the heads beingapplied to them while they are in motion. The present 20 invention is incertain respects an improvement in the apparatus forming the subjectmatter of my copending application Serial No. 203,425, filed April 21,1938, wherein the stack of heads is subjected to contact with hot steamand the heads are transmitted into and applied to the can bodies in anatmosphere of hot steam, for the purpose of displacing air from the headspace of the cans.

The nature of the invention will be most quickly 3o ascertained from thefollowing description oi the illustrative embodiments shown in thedrawing.

In this drawing 1 have shown simply the appliances for supporting thestack of can heads and for separating the heads successively, one afteranother, from the bottom of the stack and discharging them in a seriesfor application to the can bodies. Referring first to Fig. 2, let it beunderstood that the reference numeral Ill desig- 4o nates a convenientportion, such as a casing or frame portion, of the machine by which theheads are applied to the can bodies, for example,

a steam distributor of the general sort forming the subject matter of myPatent No. 2,107,237, granted February 1, 1938, and the referencenumeral l2 designates the floor or runway portion of a sloping chute lldown which the heads are to slide one after another to the point wherethey are applied to the successively presented 60 bodies.

Mounted on thesupport portion II is a frame comprising a pair ofstationary side rails l5 which are spaced apart from each other inparallel relationship above and adjacent the upper end portion of thechute. Slidable along the facing sides of the stationary rails ii arethe reciprocable rails it, which are disposed in parallel relationshipand connected at their rearward ends by a yoke member I1 and adjacenttheir forward ends by a spacing member is, thus forming a rigidfour-sided slidable frame. The yoke member ll carries at its endsrollers l9, which ride upon the upper surfaces of the stationary railsl5, and is connected by suitable thrust-transmitting members 20 with anactuating member 2i which is here represented diagrammatically as asolenoid. A top plate 22 is fixedly secured to the stationary rails l5and extends across the reciprocable rails I6 and the space therebetween.This top plate is provided with a circular aperture 220. of a sizeappropriate to permit passage of the intended can heads therethrough,and distributed about this.

aperture are upwardly extending posts 24 arranged substantially tangentto the peripheral wall of the aperture, and thereby being adapted tofunction as guides for maintaining an upwardly extending stack of canheads in proper vertical alignment above the aperture 22a, so that theymay feed, downwardly through said aperture as heads are withdrawn fromthe bottom of the stack, as hereinafter described. Following the contourof the forward portion of the aperture 220 and attached to and extendingdownwardly from that portion of the plate 22 is a stop ledge 25, whichhas its ends spaced from the stationary guide rail l5 sufliciently topermit passage of the reciprocable rails "5. At the opposite or rearwardside of the aperture 22a is an apron member 26, which at its upperportion conforms to the curvature of the said aperture, but at its lowerportion projects forwardly as an apron 26a. Below the forward portion ofthe plate 22 and the ledge member is a downwardly extending wallaffording a throat or welllike passage downwardly to the sloping runway82. The space between the bottom of the ledge member 25 and top of thewall 21 is such as to accommodate passage of the spacer l8.

The elements for supporting and separating and discharging the heads oneafter another from the bottom of the stack are carried on thereciprocable rails l6, and those of the left hand rail are shown in topview in Fig. 3, it being understood that the opposite rail is similarlyequipped with like elements in opposite positions, as illustratedgenerally in Fig. 1.

These head-handling elements on each of the reciprocable rails l6comprise a supporting detent 30, a. separator 3|, and a holding detentcomprising a plurality of narrow ledge-like members 32, 32' and 32" (seeFig. 6) disposed one below another. Each of these elements extendsinwardly from the rail upon which it is carried. The supporting detentsare of such width, and so located on the rails it, that when the latterare in their retracted position, as shown in Fig. 1, said detents 30will present top surfaces of substantial width projecting inwardly underthe area of the lateral portions of the aperture 220. It is upon thesesurfaces of the detents 20 that the stack of heads, which occupies theaperture 22a and the space between the posts 24 thereabove, issupported, when the rails ii are in their normal or retracted position,the lowermost head then resting upon said detents 30.

The ledges 32, 32' and 32", constituting the holding detents, presentnarrow inwardly-directed margins which are spaced vertically in properrelationship so that they can enter the converging spaces between thecurved outer marginal portions of the can heads, as illustrated in Fig.6, wherein the lowermost head is designated by the reference characterhi, the next higher by the reference character hr, the next ha, and thenext hr, so that a plurality of the heads which are in the stackimmediately above the lowermost head may be supported on the said ledgeswhen the slide frame is in an advanced position. The forward ends ofthese ledges are just to the rear of the transverse diameter of theaperture 221:, so that they will be just to the rear of the peripheriesof the heads when the slide frame is in its rearward position and thestack of heads is supported on the supporting detents 30. Suchrelationship is illustrated approximately in Fig. 3.

The separator 3| is disposed to the reanof the supporting detents 30 andit has a thin forwardly extending blade which has its forward edgedisposed approximately in the horizontal plane of the lowermost ledge32", viz., in a position such as to enter immediately above thelowermost head of the stack. This blade is of suflicient width, as seenin Fig. 1, so as to enter between portions of the lowermost and nexthigher heads which are in actual contact with each other.

In Fig. 4 is illustrated the relationship of the parts to the stack ofheads when the reciprocable slide frame is in its rearward or retractedposition, the stack of heads (which are shown in dotted lines) beingsupported on the supporting detents 30, the heads which are within theaperture 22a being retained by the wall of said aperture againstmovement horizontally in any direction, and those which are below theplate 22 being retained against forward movement by the ledge member 25,against rearward movement by the apron member 26 (see Fig. 2), andagainst lateral movement by the reciprocable rails l6 (see Fig. 6).

For operation of the mechanism to separate and discharge the lowermosthead from the stack, the reciprocable frame is propelled forwardly, asby its actuating means 2|, until the detents attain approximately thepositions shown in Fig. 5. By such movement, the supporting detents 30are carried to a position where they are entirely clear of the lowermosthead hi while the holding detents are advanced to the position wheretheir ledges engage under and support the three heads next above thelowermost, as in the manner illustrated in Fig.6. In Fig. 5 the headsare shown in elevation, and it will be observed that the separators 3|have been intruded between the lowermost head hi and the next higherhead he so as to insure that the lowermost head be separated from thenext higher one and moved downwardly. This precludes any possibility ofthe lowermost head being held against discharge by being stuck to thenext higher head of the stack by sealing composition which is commonlyemployed in such heads or by moisture of condensation which may bepresent under certain circumstances when the heads in the stack aresubjected to contact with hot steam for purpose of sterilization,displacement of air, or the like. Incident to this forward movement ofthe reciprocating frame, the spacer member I8 has been moved so as toclose the space below the ledge member 25, as shown in Fig. 5, it beingthus completely out from under the falling lowermost head.

As the lowermost head falls, its rearward margin engages the apron 26awhich projects a slight distance into its path, thus retarding thefalling movement of the rearward portion of the'head, so that itsforward portion swings through a descending arc until it reaches thesloping runway I2. Thereupon the head slides down the runway, bygravity, to the point at which it is delivered or applied to thereceptacle for which 32", 32', and 32. Accordingly, while said ledges donot extend very deeply between heads, the aggregate area contacted bythem is considerable, and quite ample to allord secure support for theentire stack of heads. It is to be observed, furthermore, that there isno downward shifting or movement of any of the-other heads incident tothe separation and discharge of the lowermost head, and the separators3|, being at that time below the area of thestack, aflord an additionalsafety means which would be eflective to stop the descent of any headwhich might in any i'ashion escape from the lowermost ledges all Withthe return of the reciprocable frame, the ledges 32, 32', 32" arewithdrawn rearwardly from engagement with the heads, and at the sametime the holding detents 32 are moved under the stack into positionwhere the now lowermost head comes to rest upon them when the holdingdetents are withdrawn.

It will be understood that the operation oi the reciprocable frame maybetimed or controlled in any suitable fashion so that the delivery of theheads is coordinated with the presentationof can bodies or receptaclesto receive them. The heads are placed in the holder formed by the guideposts 24 from time to time as required,

preferably being deposited therein from receptacles in which they arealready previously stacked or nested at the place where they aremanufactured.

It will be apparent that the apparatus em-. bodies various featureswhich are 01' distinct advantage, in that means are provided foreil'ecting the handling, separating and discharge of ,the

. holding detent at diilerent locations longitudinal- 7 1y thereof andeach movable into and out of the area occupied by the heads in thestack, said i holding detent comprising a plurality of ledges spaced oneabove another, their vertical spacing and width being such that they mayenter between marginal portions only of a plurality of superimposedheads in the stack when the lowermost thereof is supported on thesupporting detents.

2. In apparatus for delivering can heads which includes means forguiding a stack of heads, a combination comprising a pair of railsarranged in spaced relationship below the stack-guiding means and eachprovided with a supporting detent and a holding detent and at least oneof them with a separating member, said detents being arranged atdifferent locations longitudinally of the rails, means for reciprocatingsaid rails to move the detents successively into and out of positions toengage one or more heads in the stack, said holding detents being oiIsetoutwardly from said supporting detents and being movable into supportingposition relative to a plurality of heads above the lowermost in thestack when the latter is supported on the supporting detents, and theseparating member being disposed in position-t enter between thelowermost and next higher head in the stack when the supporting detentsare in position to support the latter.

3. In apparatus for delivering can heads, in combination, a slopingrunway, 'means thereabove for guiding a stack of heads in verticalposition, a pair of rails reciprocable at a level between said runwayand stack-guiding means and each provided with a supporting detent and ain both the vertical and the horizontal relationships and are movablealternately into and out of supporting position with respect to a headin the stack by the reciprocatory movement of the rail, whereby theheads may be discharged singly from the bottom of the stack onto thesloping runway, said runway sloping at an angle such that the headsslide down it by gravity'from below the stack.

4. Apparatus as specified in claim 3 and including an apron memberprojecting a short dis tance under the area of the stack adjacent thehigh end of the runway in position to be contacted by a marginal portionoi a head which is dropping from the stack, whereby to direct the headtoward a parallel relationship with the sloping runway.

5. In apparatus for delivering can heads which includes means forguiding a stack of heads, a delivery device comprising a pair ofreciprocable rails each having a supporting detent arranged to be movedto a position under the lowermost head of the stack when the rails aremoved in one direction and to beremoved from under said head by movementof the rails in the other direction, and a holding detent comprising aplurality of narrow ledges spaced one above another and disposed at anelevation higher than the supporting detent in positions to enterslidabiy betwecn'the marginal portions of a plurality of superimposedheads in the stack above the lower most upon movement of therails in onedirection and to be moved out of engagement with the heads by movementof the rails in the other direction.

6. Apparatus as specified in claim 5 and wherein at least one of therailshas a separating member thereon which is disposed to enter betweencontacting portions of the lowermost and super- Jacent heads after theholding detents are in position to support the latter.

7. Apparatus as specified in claim 5 and wherein the supporting detentsare arranged'opposite each other and the holding'detents are arrangedopposite each other. I 8. Apparatus as specified in claim 5 and where inthe lowermost ledges of the holding detent are offset in a verticalrelationship from the supporting detents to a distance approximating thedepth 01 the marginal portion of the can head which the apparatus isdesigned to handle.

to maintain the stack in alignment with said aperture, parallel railsreclprocable under the plate in positions tangent to the area of theaperture, detents on said rails movable into an! out of the area of theaperture by reciprocation of said rails. and stop members extendingdownwardly from the plate between the rails at the forward and rearwardsides of the aperture in positions-to prevent movement of the heads inthe directions of movement of the rails and detents. 10

LYNN E. DAVIES.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,175,602.

September 19, l 93 9.

LYNN E DAVIES.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed'specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: -Page 5,

ond column, line 8, claim 2, for the word "outwardly" read upwardly; and

that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction thereinthat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 51st day of October, A. D. 1939.

(Seal) Henry Van Arsdale, Acting Commissioner of Patents.

to maintain the stack in alignment with said aperture, parallel railsreclprocable under the plate in positions tangent to the area of theaperture, detents on said rails movable into an! out of the area of theaperture by reciprocation of said rails. and stop members extendingdownwardly from the plate between the rails at the forward and rearwardsides of the aperture in positions-to prevent movement of the heads inthe directions of movement of the rails and detents. 10

LYNN E. DAVIES.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,175,602.

September 19, l 93 9.

LYNN E DAVIES.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed'specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: -Page 5,

ond column, line 8, claim 2, for the word "outwardly" read upwardly; and

that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction thereinthat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 51st day of October, A. D. 1939.

(Seal) Henry Van Arsdale, Acting Commissioner of Patents.

